Big Changes coming to Carson City Fair July 26-28

The Carson City Fair is returning for its third year this month, and it’s bringing big changes and several new events to its roster including a demolition derby, American Ninja Farmer contests, jello eating contests, animal auctions, and more.

Instead of a carnival this year, which, let’s be honest, there are more than enough of throughout the year, the fair will instead be going back to its agricultural and small town roots.

“This is our third year doing the fair,” said Chelsy Simerson, co-chair of the Carson City Fair. “The main focus is youth in agriculture. That’s what were really trying to promote, and we want to create the fair around them and around the agriculture.”

This year, the 3-day Carson City Fair will take place from July 26-28 at Fuji Park, located at 601 Old Clear Creek Road.

Forgoing carnival rides, there's several new events for the weekend including food eating contests, youth-run animal auctions, demolition derbies, static exhibits, vendor booths, dog shows, and what is potentially the greatest idea known to man: American Ninja Farmer.

American Ninja Farmer is a play on the popular American Ninja Warrior contest in which contestants must make it through obstacle courses to win. This is a similar construct, but one that is entirely Nevadan.

Teams of two will battle it out with the following obstacles:
- Roll a tractor tire
- Stack 3 Hay Bales onto a Flatbed
- Carry a greased watermelon
- Milk a (fake) cow named Moolissa
- Wheelbarrow race

This takes place on Saturday, July 27 on the Fuji Park South Lawn, and semi-finalists will move to the main area and compete for the grand prize as an opening act for the demolition derby. The grand prize is an overnight stay/dinner/Carson City grab bag.

The main race begins at 3 p.m., with onsite registration at 2:30 p.m. The final race will begin in the main arena at 6:40 p.m.

In addition, a Jello Eating Contest will be held on Sunday beginning at 11:30 a.m. Do you have what it takes to slurp a pan full of jello? Winners of each competition will receive a round of applause and a $50 gift certificate to Smart Foodservice. There will be a children’s category and an adult class.

A sidewalk chalk competition, coloring contest and salt block contest round out the 2019 contests which you can learn more about and register for by clicking here.

The inaugural demolition derby is sure to be the hot ticket for the fair this year, which will begin on Friday night and end on Saturday.

Friday night has two derbies for the evening, the first being for Simerson Construction employees, which will include 12 to 18 cars, followed by an open class, which is open to the community with a nonrefundable $100 entry fee and participants must attend meetings ahead of time.

Saturday night has two events, “Survivor Class” that will be the vehicles that survived night one coming back to smash around, and a Minivan Mayhem Class, which is exactly what it sounds like. Watch as minivans crash and smash each other around the arena.

Learn more about the derby and how you can enter by clicking here.

JAC is offering free rides on the fair bus route during the weekend from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

To view the bus route click here.

In addition to the new events, the tried and trued classics will be returning as well, such as 4-H Agricultural shows, livestock auctions, the static exhibits, dog show, and more.

Static displays are open to the public. If you're interested, bring your static display on Thursday before the fair begins and fill out your form here.

Static display categories include: clothing and textiles, conservation and wildlife, educational exhibits, fine arts, foods and food preservation, heritage horticulture, photography, quilting, science, engineering and technology, as well as miscellaneous.

"If people aren't sure what their category their exhibits would fit into, they should bring it anyway; we'll find a category for it," said Simerson.

Members of the Carson Cluckers, the 4-H Dog Club, and FFA will be present throughout the weekend as ambassadors for youth-in-agriculture.

At this time, vendors are still being accepted, and volunteers are needed.

To learn more about the fair, you can visit their facebook page here.